Editor: Tell us about your journey. How did it all start? 

MS: My first hospitality experience was a summer job at a golf course in Spain, where I was given a golf buggy to refill the water fountains around the course. An incredibly exciting adventure for a 14-year-old! Later, during my university years, I secured various internships at several properties around Europe, allowing me to discover the nature of the work in many different hotel departments.

My first overseas job was in Vietnam as a Cruise Manager in UNESCO World Heritage Site Ha Long Bay. I later moved to southern Vietnam to work for a beach resort before joining Meliá Hotels International for the opening of Meliá Yangon in Myanmar. I relocated back to Vietnam as the Hotel Manager and later Acting General Manager for Meliá Hanoi, before my current post as General Manager of Meliá Chiang Mai.

Editor: What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry? 

MS: Along with the usual skills required for any managerial post, for this industry I believe adaptability is the key for success. In such a fast-moving business as ours, flexibility is essential to succeed in day-to-day operations.

Editor: What are the attributes you look for while selecting or hiring?  If someone wants to work with you, what should they do? 

MS: At a time where recruitment is an overall challenge for the industry, we look for avid candidates willing to demonstrate their service passion and represent a new generation in hospitality.

We currently have a variety of open positions as well as opportunities to join the hotel to complete internships. For this, we work with a variety of local universities to offer opportunities to home-grown talent.

Editor: What advice would you give to a young, aspiring hotelier for their internship?

MS: I would suggest they pay attention to all the small details and treat the entire process as a valuable learning experience. Learn from both the good and the bad as this will place them in good stead to implement better solutions when it is their time to make the important decisions.

And from the general manager’s point of view, we will always support our interns in their career paths, especially in Thailand. This year, our Spanish hotel group Meliá Hotels International is expanding its footprint in Thailand with the opening of its fourth property, INNSiDE By Melia Bangkok Sukhumvit. The debut of Thailand’s first INNSiDE hotel makes for a wonderful opportunity for new talent to learn and grow.

Editor: How does all the new AI change hospitality?

MS: AI is a fast-growing trend in all industries, particularly hospitality. We are starting to see some very interesting applications that facilitate the day-to-day operations and allow for a fast workflow and better experience for our guests.

While its implementation might not be the fastest around our region, we are starting to see some uses for AI in hospitality and tourism, such as chatbots’ almost flawless communication on hotel social media platforms and websites, affording 24/7 interaction with guests. AI can offer the hospitality industry infinite solutions; the last word will depend on the guests’ needs and interests.

Editor: What is your favorite interview question and why?

MS: Lately, interviews have become rather monotonous processes with many standardized questions and answers. Given the limited time we have to interview candidates, I tend to ask open questions that encourage them to share their past experiences, challenges, and successes. There are no right or wrong answers, but the way the candidates tell their stories can easily reflect their determination, matureness, proactiveness and other admirable traits that are key to finding a suitable team member.